HPD Chief Bradford indicted

Steps down temporarily

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Published
5:30 am CDT, Friday, September 6, 2002

Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford, who has come under fire for a recent mass arrest at a westside Kmart, resigned temporarily today after he was indicted for perjury by a Harris County grand jury amid allegations he lied under oath during a disciplinary hearing involving Capt. Mark Aguirre's alleged use of profanity.

The perjury allegations are unrelated to the Kmart incident.

Perjury is a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

Bradford testified before the grand jury about allegations that he lied under oath during a May disciplinary hearing for Aguirre, who led the controversial Aug. 18 Kmart raid that ended with 273 arrests.

The rift between Bradford and Aguirre deepened Tuesday as the two testified before the grand jury investigating the perjury allegations against Bradford.

Aguirre was reprimanded in November 2001 after a subordinate complained that the captain had used profanity with him. Aguirre appealed that reprimand and was granted a hearing before the Civil Service Commission. Bradford testified under oath at that hearing that he had never used profanity with his subordinates, testimony later contradicted by J.L. Breshears, HPD's executive assistant chief.

It was Bradford's testimony, and Breshears' contradiction, that sparked the grand jury's perjury investigation.

"This issue has been out there since May," Bradford said on his way to testify Tuesday. "This is an opportunity for me to respond to the allegations. I look forward to testifying before the grand jury."

Terry Yates, Aguirre's attorney, said Aguirre would not comment on his testimony. Yates said grand jurors are giving the case a full hearing, far better than the treatment he said Aguirre is getting from HPD in an unrelated incident.

Aguirre, a 23-year HPD veteran, was suspended with pay Aug. 24 for his role in a police raid at a Kmart parking lot a week earlier that led to the arrests of 273 people, mostly teenagers. The arrests sparked accusations of harassment.

Aguirre, who was the senior officer on duty the night of the arrests, said HPD's administration was fully aware of the planned arrests, but that Bradford was making him a scapegoat.

Aguirre said the arrests were intended to crack down on illegal drag racers who use the Kmart parking lot on Westheimer as a staging area. Although officers found no drag racing that night, they arrested hundreds on such charges of attempted trespassing. Many of those arrested said they were customers swept up in the raids and that police ignored evidence they had done nothing wrong.

The arrests, which are being investigated by HPD's internal affairs division, led to the suspension of Aguirre and 12 other police supervisors and a $100 million federal lawsuit against the city.